The Philippine Online Chronicles

We’ve heard it time and again: these fashion and beauty magazines – especially those geared towards teenagers – are causing low self-esteem, body image issues, and even eating disorders stemming from the unrealistic standards of beauty they portray. There is no question about it: studies have categorically shown that yes, magazines do promote unhealthy body ideals, leading to low self-esteem and other problems.

In a study conducted by Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar (Journal of Research on Adolescence, 2005), the researchers discovered that self-esteem among girls declines at the onset of adolescence, linked to their exposure to unrealistic media portrayal of beauty. As early as age 11, these girls are saddled with low self-esteem, poor body image, and – in worst case scenarios – eating disorders. The trouble never really goes away for most of them; even adult women (as much as 80%) reported the same sense of inadequacy when confronted with media’s portrayal of beautiful and near-perfect women.

The photoshop effect

It’s not good enough that celebrities and models are already attractive in real life; magazines now utilize the image editing software program Adobe Photoshop to make their covers even more “appealing”. It’s no wonder even celebrities get trapped in such a mindset; most are forced to live up to the image of them portrayed by the media, lest they get called out for not being perfect enough. The Daily Mail put two pictures of fashion icon Twiggy side by side, revealing the stark difference.

The Daily Mail reveal: Twiggy in her Olay ad (left) versus a candid photo of her trip to the grocery (right)

There’s no denying that Twiggy is looking good for her age; her photo for the Olay campaign, however, is largely unnatural and unrealistic, to the point of being completely unrecognizable. Twiggy’s unchanged look is attractive enough to remain an icon, but isn’t enough to be in an actual ad campaign?

The problem has gotten so endemic that several governments have proposed the banning of digital manipulation of photographs due to their detrimental effect on young girls. US couple Seth and Eva Matlins are proposing a “Self-Esteem Act”, which will require agencies, magazines, and the like to add a disclaimer to “images depicting the human form”, whenever the photo has been altered significantly.

But it’s not just Photoshop and the digital manipulation of images that is to blame. A study from Stanford University notes that their respondents (75 female students of the university) revealed insecurities stemming from women’s magazines, and not just because of the photos. One of the respondents wrote, “I usually feel terrible after going through a woman's magazine. On every page you are faced with pictures, articles or advertisements that point out your inadequacies. I feel truly 'lesser' after reading one. I feel like I'm not skinny enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, or successful enough. By the time I turn the last page, I feel awful. Inadequate.” When articles and advertisements talk about nothing but flaws, it’s inevitable that readers end up magnifying minor issues that, unfortunately, lead to even lower self-esteem.

More than the usual suspects

To be fair, however, one cannot pin everything on media. There are a lot of women who are exposed to the same barrage of media manipulation, but don’t end up with self-esteem issues. It appears, therefore, that it’s not just the magazines and television shows that are to blame; there are more factors involved than immediately meets the eye.

In the same way that real-life violence cannot and should not be pinned solely on violent video games (i.e. all juvenile delinquents are gamers, but not all gamers are juvenile delinquents), it would be impossible to say that no other factors contribute to a person’s low self-esteem. NBA star Charles Barkley famously quipped: “just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids”. Adolescents may spend most of their time bombarded by the media, but you know who else is present?

If raising self-esteem is the issue, then parents should definitely take the stage, front and center. Mental health professionals believe that parents are just as significant in developing a child’s self-esteem, especially since the home is where a person’s identity is forged.

One of the primary problems, according to Dr. Anita Gurian, Ph.D. of the New York University Study Center, is that parents often do not realize their own influence over their children. To increase a child’s self-esteem and insulate them from the effects of media distortion, the home should be free of gender stereotypes. Girls and boys should be treated equally, given the same opportunities, and made to undertake similar tasks. For example, don’t make remarks like “girls should know how to cook and clean”. This innocuous phrase sends the wrong message, and affects how children view themselves (i.e. boys don’t have to know how to cook and clean, because only girls do).

Parents should be the role models; they should not have to rely on media to provide role models for their children. A strong female role model at home can give a child a more realistic standard and goal, minimizing the impact that media can have.

The times are a-changin’

But parents really need not fret so much, because times are changing. There’s just too much of a “good” thing that people are starting to realize that media really can be manipulative and distorted. Recently, singing superstar Charice Pempengco’s cover photo elicited wild reactions. Some claimed outright disbelief. Though there’s no proof that her photo was altered, readers and viewers are now so wary of what Photoshop can do that the initial reaction (instead of admiration) is now always skepticism.

People are “bucking the trend”, so to speak. The Internet offers a cornucopia of celebrities and models looking their worst, and people flock to these websites. Call it schadenfreude, but maybe the world’s been so desensitized by so much perfection that people are trying to destroy it.

Viva la imperfeccion!